


Hidden in Leaves

by ohmyvalar



Category: Naruto
Genre: Akatsuki - Freeform, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Character tags to be added w updates, Multi, Mystery, POV Alternating, age wise at least
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2018-12-25 17:28:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12040728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmyvalar/pseuds/ohmyvalar
Summary: Konoha Academy has welcomed our reluctant heroes back through its doors, but their youthful tale of human loves and sorrows is soon disrupted by the discovery of an earth-shattering secret. What really happened in Konoha 17 years ago? What terrible events are being planned by the mysterious organization named Akatsuki? And more importantly, how will our heroes find their way to adulthood in this maze of life?All this and more... In the Village Hidden in Leaves.





	1. Naruto I

**Author's Note:**

> This originated as a guilty pleasure fic of mine, so there're actually enough planned chapters for monthly updates to be feasible, yay! Due to possible spoilers, warnings will be written in the notes of relevant chapters. As usual, this fic is unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine and mine alone!

The maddeningly cheerful chirping of birds soaring in the sky above elicited a yawn from the yellow-haired youth stepping through the gates of Konoha Academy. 

_Fuck_ , he was tired.

Maybe hanging out with Inuzuka Kiba all night had been a bad idea. 

To his credit, he'd waved him off the first three times, but his neighbor could be so doggedly _stubborn_ sometimes -

-although maybe he should've known better than to sneak over on the goddamn Sunday night before the first day of college. 

Well, what's done was done. 

At least there wasn't much he needed to prepare himself for, mentally or physically. Konoha Academy was basically the only educational institution in town worth its salt, and it offered a four-year program from high school to college - so most everyone he'd known in his previous years in the Academy would've been promoted here too. 

First impressions were long made and set in stone, and the reputation of class clown wasn't too bad in Uzumaki Naruto's book. There were worse things to be. 

Yawning, he flashed his trademark grin at a pair of schoolgirls walking by. One giggled - though the other rolled her eyes, evidently unimpressed. 

As they passed him by, the smile dropped off his face with ease. He'd take what he could get - after all, there was a time when no one here would even meet his eye.

Being an orphan had made him an outcast as a child, but the legal adoption forms Iruka signed at the end of second year helped turn things around. Iruka was a respected teacher at Konoha Academy's high school branch, and Naruto's achievements in the past years - less academic than social, much to his new father's exasperation - had landed him with a crowd he was happy to call his friends.

_Speaking of friends..._

A shock of black hair ahead caught Naruto's eye as he trudged down the corridor with his bag slung across his shoulder. Before he could even think to call out in greeting, his legs were moving forwards instinctively. 

'Hey, Sasuke!' Throwing an arm around the other boy's shoulder, Naruto flashed his signature ear-to-ear grin. This close, he could breathe in the scent of his shampoo, feel the curve of his shoulder -

-And then to his consternation, the dark-haired boy immediately shrugged him off.

Naruto's face fell. Falling back a pace to trail behind his target, conflicting thoughts stormed his mind as he watched the other boy continue striding ahead in determined strides. 

Uchiha Sasuke. 

They went way back - well, most folks around Konoha did, but Sasuke was something else. 

But somewhere down the line, Sasuke had _changed_. 

In Naruto's memory, the change had closely followed the disappearance of Uchiha Itachi. 

As kids, the Uchiha siblings had been inseparable. At school it was all _my brother topped the grade in his year!_ and _my brother would've done that better_. Every time he stumbled upon one of them the other was never far behind - and then Sasuke would look down at him with that puerile smirk of his, pulling Itachi closer to him. _As if I was going to steal his brother away from him_. It was only another thing Sasuke had that he didn't.

But then Naruto stopped seeing him around town attached to his brother at the hip. 

In fact, now that he thought about it, he never seemed to see the elder Uchihaat all these days. Maybe he'd joined their parents on those endless business trips that Sasuke said they were always on?

And then Sasuke started topping the charts for _everything_. 

From academics to sports, the Uchiha was always among the best in their grade. This, together with his looks - which Naruto totally did not appreciate or care about, no matter what the rumors claimed - gathered him a 'fan club' of students who were constantly following him around the Academy. 

In middle-grader Naruto's mind, this made Sasuke both his primary goal and rival. Somehow along the way, he'd managed to earn the dark-haired boy's grudged respect, and in their last year in high school together the intense rivalry between them had morphed into something else. 

(This somehow sowed the seed of the rumors that they were secretly dating - or at least burning away all the heat of their rivalry by fucking in closets all over campus - which were all, of course, _completely baseless_.)

(Though Naruto could admit, if only to himself, that the quiet intensity the Uchiha possessed attracted him in ways he didn't care to examine too carefully.)

The point was, he'd thought what they had was more than _this_ , damn it. 

Staring moodily at the dark-haired boy's back, Naruto stewed over his thoughts. 

Sure, over the break they'd grown out of touch, but Naruto knew that wasn't only with _him_. Haruno Sakura - once self-proclaimed president of Sasuke's fan club, but whom had since grown out of her idolizations and become his closest female platonic friend instead - had been cut off too. 

It said something about how little Sasuke cared about his social life that Sakura and Naruto were his closest ties in the Academy, despite how he might've been accepted into any number of popular circles if he showed even the slightest interest. 

Sakura had mentioned it during a party at Akimichi Chouji's. She'd asked if anyone else present had heard from Sasuke, but no one volunteered any information. With a few shots in her, the pink-haired girl had even confessed to Naruto that she broke into the Uchiha residence once to demand why Sasuke was avoiding her. 

'But there was no one there.' Even now, Naruto could clearly recall the faint fear in her voice as she explained. 'No unwashed dishes, no clothes in the laundry, no food in the refrigerator... _No signs of life_.'

Ahead, Sasuke abruptly stopped. The chill that had originated from the memory intensified into a shudder as the dark-haired boy turned an unreadable expression on him. _What happened in those lost months?_ The question was on the tip of Naruto's tongue. 

Then Sasuke smiled his usual smirk. 'It's good to see you again, _idiot_.' 

The relief that flooded Naruto was almost too thick for words. This, _this_ was their usual routine. It wasn't quite camaraderie, but it was what they had - and he wouldn't change it for anything. 

An answering grin pulled at his lips, and the question faded, forgotten in his euphoria. And this was Sasuke, after all. They'd known each other for so long. What ground-breaking occurrence could have happened to him in the few months they'd been apart without Naruto noticing earlier? 

'Right back at you, _jerk!_ ' 

-

The rest of their walk to homeroom was quiet. Consciously or not, Naruto avoided asking about Sasuke's absence in the past months, and they fell easily back into their usual dynamic of friendly antagonism. 

They had been assigned to the same class once again. Naruto knew that Sakura was too, though it seemed too much of a coincidence to be true - he wouldn't be surprised if she had pulled some strings to achieve this arrangement. The girl knew how to get what she wanted - unless that someone was a certain dark-haired Uchiha. 

Pushing the door to their homeroom open, Naruto suspected that there would be a few more familiar faces. After all, Konoha Academy had always had small enrollment numbers... 

Sure enough, there were faces he recognized immediately upon stepping in. 

There was Nara Shikamaru, looking bored as always, leaning back in his seat with his head against an arm propped up on the chair. Glancing up at the clock installed at the front of the classroom, Naruto noted that there were still fifteen minutes to first period. For an incorrigible lazy-ass, Shikamaru was suspiciously punctual. 

Naruto decided that Mrs Nara must have sent him off early for the first day of college. That lady had been nice to him when he went over, but he'd also witnessed her undisputed power over her husband and son first-hand. You didn't marry a military man as decorated as Mr Nara was without having some steel yourself, apparently.

Next to him was an empty seat, but it was probably saved for Chouji. The Naras and the Akimichis had been family friends for generations, so Shikamaru and Chouji had been tight since childhood. Hell, it was apparently even Academy tradition to put same-grade students from their families in the same class... 

Naruto's eyes flickered to Yamanaka Ino, sitting poised and alone in the second aisle seat. The Yamanaka family was the third of the affiliated trio of families, but Ino usually ran with her own popular circle.

And it wasn't hard to see why. Ino had pale blonde hair that cascaded over her shoulders like a fountain of silk, and a slender body which curved in all the right places. She'd been wearing crop tops and low-waisted jeans since first year - and no one could deny that her fashion sense was stellar - but in recent years she'd begun drawing a different sort of attention. 

Not that she seemed to mind it. In their high school years Ino and Sakura had been close, but then they'd had a falling out - most said over Sasuke - and she broke away from their circle to hang with popular upperclassmen like Hyuga Neji. 

Since then, Naruto hadn't seen much of her... Not that he didn't _want_ to, but she'd grown so cold towards them - 

_Oops._

Across the room, Ino had noticed his gaze. Bracing himself for scorn, he set his jaw. But the ice maiden only considered him for a moment, titled her head, and then - _smiled_.

Well, that had never happened before. 

Blinking, Naruto quickly sought Sakura out with his eyes. Shit, she would probably kill him if she caught him eye-fucking Ino - which was likely how she would've judged it - or whatever _that_ had been. 

But when he spotted the pink-haired girl, he saw that she had eyes only for Sasuke - who promptly walked right past the empty seat beside her. 

Naruto groaned inwardly as he recognized the hurt swimming in Sakura's eyes, and the quiet determination emanating from Sasuke as he settled down in a window seat. 

He'd have been fine with trying his luck with either Shikamaru or Ino, though he wanted to sit with Sasuke to find out more about what had happened. 

But now there was no way he could do that without making Sakura feel even more betrayed. 

Sliding into the seat beside the pink-haired girl with one last glare at Sasuke, Naruto sighed. 

Well, he didn't mind sitting with Sakura, really - as long as she didn't get the wrong idea. 

In high school, even as Sakura had been crazy for Sasuke, Naruto himself had harbored a crush on Sakura. 

And shit, it was embarrassing as fuck to recall. The pink-haired girl was a different kind of cute from Ino - her shyer demeanor and natural kindness made her as beautiful as the annual flower blossom showers that gave her her name. 

This idealized personality had gradually been deconstructed through the years as Sakura grew out of her shell and discovered the will to fight for the things she loved. That, and a few too many party nights that ended with Naruto holding her cherry blossom locks back as she bent over the toilet bowl. For someone with such low tolerance, she really was too easy to get drunk for her own good. 

Eventually, his feelings for her had faded into friendship, as Sakura's for Sasuke had. He just didn't know if Sakura knew or believed that. 

Across the room, Ino had slid down the row into the empty seat beside Sasuke, and was currently leaning over to whisper something into his ear. Naruto squinted, trying to eavesdrop and observe simultaneously, to no avail. 

_Well, that's fine. It's got nothing to do with me anyways..._

And yet, staring at them, Naruto's imagination ran wild. 

_Ino, veteran of the playing field, would know what to do and say. She would lean into her target just so, until her flower-scented locks tickled his shoulder and her softness pressed against his arm. Her voice would drip tantalizing promises into his ear like saccharine honey, and he would..._

_Wait. What would_ Sasuke _do? Part of Naruto's mind urged him to fuck reality and replace Ino's partner with an anonymous man instead, but his gaze kept flickering back to Sasuke's pale skin, his emotionless face, his lips as he shaped words that sent the blonde flinching away -_

Sharp black eyes seared into Naruto, and he jerked up instinctively to meet Sasuke's death stare. 

_Fuck._

Back when Itachi had been the most prominent Uchiha around, people whispered that his eyes held the power to ensnare you with a single gaze. Naruto had put it down as a result of his indiscriminate attractiveness, but now he understood what the rumors had meant. 

It was a glare clearly intended to strike fear into Naruto, but the burning intensity in it sent tremors down his spine that he couldn't in confidence say were from apprehension alone. 

Flinching but reluctant to look away first, Naruto bit down on his lip and shifted in his seat. 

_Well, this is awkward_. Even more so than the time Iruka caught him and Kiba watching porn together with their hands down their pants. And that had been _before_ he'd been officially adopted. 

For a minute, everyone else in the room seemed to disappear. Only Sasuke and him remained, the tension between them building and building and - 

'Serves her right. I knew Sasuke wouldn't fall for those tricks from her.' 

Sakura's bitter voice cut through the air, and immediately the spell was broken. 

Immensely relieved by the distraction, Naruto turned gratefully towards his deskmate. 'Y-yeah, Sasuke's the untemptable sort.' He ventured vaguely. He couldn't very well shame Ino after the fantasy he'd just created around her, and Sasuke - well -

The pink-haired girl cast him a disbelieving look. 'Is that what you're calling his thing for exhibitionistic threesomes now?' 

Naruto winced. He well knew the incident Sakura had in mind. 

During one of the progressively wilder parties that were hosted near the end of their last year of high school, a risqué game of seven minutes in heaven had been organized by certain college upperclassmen. 

One thing had led to another, and before Naruto knew it a senior - Tenten, he seemed to remember her name being, though the one defining characteristic he could attach to her was an unashamed love for big boobs - had dragged Sasuke into a threesome with her friend right there on Rock Lee's couch. 

Sakura hadn't been present, but word spread fast in the Academy, especially if it was as sensationalistic as details about campus darling Uchiha Sasuke's sex life.

A wave of sympathy swept through Naruto. He'd never had the tact to ask her about her feelings on the matter, but he guessed now that it got to her more than she let on.

'Hey, Sakura...' 

But his attempt at comfort was rudely interrupted by the sound of the classroom door being pushed open. 

All eyes snapped to the front of the classroom as the class tutor walked languidly to the teacher's desk. 

A shock of grey hair stuck out - gelled? There was no way anyone's natural hair could grow like that - in spikes, though the man looked closer to twenty than fifty. But even that was hard to tell because of the mask that hid the bottom half of his face and an eye from view. 

_Is a contagious sickness slowly taking over his face? Or is this an absurd fashion statement?_ Naruto and Sakura exchanged a telepathic glance, and grinned despite themselves. They'd gotten good at their form of wordless communication. 

The tutor turned his lone eye to survey his students in turn lazily. 'Well, Class 710. The name's Hatake Kakashi. And that's Mr Kakashi to you. I teach History, and I'll be your homeroom tutor this year.' 

_Kakashi...?_ That name sounded vaguely familiar to Naruto. Well, he was an Academy teacher, so he probably heard it from Iruka. He'd have to ask his father about their new tutor sometime. There were always advantages in learning some of the dirty secrets that circulated around in the staff offices. 

'Mr Kakashi.' The voice came from Chouji in his seat beside Shikamaru. _He must've came in when I was distracted by Sakura and Sasuke_. 'Is this everyone in our class?' 

_Now that he mentioned it..._

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru - that made 6. Konoha was a small, closed town - hence its nickname by inhabitants as Konohagakure, hidden in leaves - so the Academy had always had a small student population, but this was pushing it. 

Was the town suffering from falling birth rates or something? 

Naruto shot a doubtful glance at Sasuke. The Uchiha family was basically a clan at this point; every year at least one new student with the name enrolled in the Academy. 

Sasuke had once told him that according to the family tree, his father was the head of all the current Uchiha branches within Konoha and beyond. _Huh_. Did that make Sasuke some kind of clan nobility? The image of him holding court over fellow dark-haired, smirking relatives with a medieval crown on his head forced Naruto to hastily stifle a laugh. 

'That's a good question, Akimichi.' Kakashi answered, in an undisguisedly indifferent tone. 'Konoha Academy's student population is always small compared to foreign branches, but your year is a record low. Usually, your number should be at least doubled...'

'As for why...' The grey-haired tutor's pale eye seemed to land on Naruto for a long minute. 'Well, the infant incubation sector of the hospital was badly hit during the... natural disaster seventeen years ago.' 

_Natural disaster... 17 years ago..._ Whispers filled the classroom as they took in this explanation. They'd all heard of the event before, of course, but the details of it were always shrouded in mystery. 

All accounts agreed that it had been a terrible disaster that wrecked massive destruction and resulted in numerous casualties in Konoha, but that was about all they could agree on. And like most of the youth and children now too young to remember much of the tragedy, Naruto could only rely on the often contradicting information given by reluctant adults. 

Some claimed that it was the repercussions of this disaster that had closed Konoha off from the rest of the world, while others said that it had always been so by the mandate of First Mayor Hashirama Senju. Strangest of all, no one would tell of the exact form this natural disaster took. 

It seemed most likely to Naruto that it had been an earthquake. Tornadoes were unheard of in Konoha, and it wasn't anywhere near any natural shoreline. Although it was definitely suspicious that everyone would be so secretive about such a typical kind of geographical occurrence, even if it had wrought massive damage. 

And.. _Wait._ That didn't make any sense. Even if the all of the infants in the hospital at the time were killed, would that really have made such a significant impact on the entire infant population in Konoha?

Maybe he should question Kakashi further about this. After all, a teacher wouldn't lie to his student about facts that were _technically_ part of the syllabus as a historical event, right? 

'... And that's enough!' The tutor's voice broke into Naruto's thoughts, effectively halting that train in its tracks. Kakashi's words seemed as apathetic as ever, but there was an undertone that made the class shut up immediately as commanded. 

Satisfied with the silencing effect he had on the class, the grey haired tutor smiled - or at least, that was what he appeared to do as his lone eye winked down upon his students. 

'Now, I'm sure you've all reviewed your timetables for the term, but let's go through it again like your dear principal told me to...' 

Against the backdrop of the tutor's distant voice, Naruto laid his head on his table and tried to doze off discreetly. Before the waves of drowsiness finally pulled him under into the soundless realm of sleep, he thought he heard Sakura sigh rather fondly. 

-

College timetables were relatively individualistic and flexible, in the sense that you could choose which classes to take at what time - or to just skip all of them because neither your tutors nor you were obliged to give a flying fuck. 

Well, if you were Naruto, anyway.

If you were high flyers like Hyuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke, you probably had to listen attentively in every lesson like a goody-two-shoes - wait. Alright, who was he kidding - that didn't sound like Sasuke at all. 

_But Neji, probably,_ Naruto decided. _That's what a pretty face and long lustrous hair will do for you. Even when you're a nerd you get in with girls like Ino._

At any rate, Naruto was skipping Physical Education. Physics with Mr Asuma had been dry, though the teacher himself seemed nice enough. Shikamaru had been oddly attentive during the lesson - probably because he thought Mr Asuma smelling like smoke himself meant he could get a free pass in the class. 

He could just tell that Sasuke was going to skip, too. The Uchiha had always generally avoided wasting time on useless school activities - which meant most of them except lessons he needed attendance to score for. 

And PE - it wasn't like the dark haired boy lacked the motivation to exercise either, if his body was any indication. 

_Woah, woah, woah._ That came out all wrong in his head. 

It wasn't as if Naruto had been paying special attention or anything. It was just a locker room thing - and if you'd known Sasuke as long as he had - honestly, at this point he was surprised he'd never seen his dick before. 

_Accidentally_ , of course. 

Skulking down the corridor with his hands stuffed into his pockets, Naruto blinked when he caught a glimpse of dark hair ahead turning the corner towards him. A shiver of premonition ran down his spine.

 _And speaking of the devil... Talk about deja vu._

The Uchiha didn't seem to have noticed him yet. Hurrying down the hallway, cautiously glancing to the side, alert for something... Actually, he looked kinda suspicious. Where could he be rushing off to? Merely truancy shouldn't have Sasuke in such a high-strung state. They'd skipped together a few times in high school, and he'd never seemed too worried about being caught by the staff. 

Dark eyes flickered upwards, meeting Naruto's... And sliding away. Naruto's greeting call stuck in his throat. 

_What the -_

Naruto whirled around as Sasuke continued storming right past him. He'd definitely seen him, he was sure of it. To ignore him so utterly, after this morning - 

_The nerve of him - Damn Uchiha bastard -_

A silver of his old antagonism towards Sasuke flared up within Naruto as he turned to chase the dark-haired boy down. 

His footsteps thundered down the path. Sasuke had to have heard him by now, but instead of stopping, he sped up. Now they were running across the gravel of the road path for vehicles. 

Sasuke was heading for the school gates. 

At this timing, the security warden Ms Mitarashi might be on break for lunch, but Naruto wasn't risking getting a detention slip on his first day of college. Having a parent on the staff team was sometimes a disadvantage too - Iruka would kill him when he checked his son's records himself. 

_That just means I have to stop Sasuke before he leaves._

Decision made, Naruto grit his teeth and put all his strength into his strides, intending to charge right into his target. 

Just as they were meters apart, Sasuke abruptly stopped and spun around, locking Naruto's arms safely away from his face as the latter struggled to recover from the inertia of the sudden stop. 

When he saw that Naruto's breath had returned, the dark-haired boy pushed him away roughly. 'What do you think you're doing, following me around?' He demanded, dark eyes burning with questing suspicion. 

Those eyes again. They were as full of determined intent as they had been earlier in the classroom - only now they inspired a much safer and familiar emotion: anger. 

It always was easy to be riled up when it came to Sasuke. 

Instead of answering with the honest truth - _I was worried about you, you bastard_ \- the easier reply came out of his mouth. ' _I_ wanted to know what _you're_ doing, lurking around in school during lesson time!' 

It was an exchange not unlike many they'd had in bygone years. If this were only a whim of Sasuke's, he should brush it off with a similar retort and his trademark smirk. 

And if it wasn't... Then maybe Naruto would learn more about what exactly was wrong with him. 

But Sasuke's face only darkened. 

'Mind your own business, Naruto.' 

Without another word, he turned for the gates. 

The dark-haired boy meant to end the conversation there, it seemed. But Naruto's instincts screamed at him to press the issue. _Something's wrong_. Sasuke's actions might have seemed typical of his attitude to anyone else, but Naruto knew him better than most. If he forced the matter, he was sure Sasuke would tell him what was - 

'Wait, Sasuke!' His hand clapped down on the Uchiha's shoulder. Instantly, he felt the tension coiled within the dark-haired boy's frame. _You can tell me if something's wrong, you know that right?_ But before he could give voice to softer words, Sasuke whipped around. 

It all happened in a blur. The Uchiha's arm moved, and suddenly Naruto was flying backwards, forearms raised protectively in front of his face. His hand came away from his nose with fresh blood. 

They were right in front of the gates now. Naruto had caught up with Sasuke in time. 

But he had never felt so far away from his childhood rival as he did now.

Mouth open in disbelief, Naruto watched as a shadow seemed to fall over the ground between them. 

' **I... _Told_... You TO STAY AWAY FROM ME!** ' 

The sound of his voice was a terrible, feral snarl. It barely sounded human; it was closer to the anguished roar of an animal approaching death. Naruto had never heard anything like it before.

But it was Sasuke's words that stung like a solid blow to his gut. 

All his childhood, he'd been chasing after the Uchiha since they first crossed paths. They'd fought and laughed together, and they didn't always appreciate each other's company - but Sasuke had never told Naruto to _stay away from him._

And it hurt like a son of a bitch to hear him say so now, after everything they'd been through together. 

Naruto's hands clenched into fists at his sides. Sasuke was still standing there, pinning him down with his deathly stare, but that wasn't what made him stay rooted to the ground. 

The message had been clear. The Uchiha wanted him to get the fuck out of his sight, because he'd been meddling where he wasn't wanted. Because he wanted this distance between them. 

Sasuke was still right there within his reach, but Naruto had lost the courage and will to reach out to him. 

In each other's eyes they lived an eternity. 

Hours, days, months - any amount of time might have passed until a honking sound broke the impasse between them. 

The loud noise visibly jerked Sasuke out of their shared reverie. As if waking from a dream, he shook his head from side to side, a look of bewilderment entering his eyes. For a moment Naruto dared hope that he would stay and explain himself, or at least apologize. 

Then Sasuke turned and walked out through the gates with resolute steps. 

Beyond the open gates, Sasuke stopped by and then got into an obnoxiously red convertible sports car. As the door opened, a black coat caught the light for a split second. 

And then the car was thrusting forward, its muted thunder of an engine fading away into the distance. 

Naruto turned away to walk back into the Academy building before the vehicle was reduced to a red spark against the horizon, alone.


	2. Sakura I

The melodic chime of the period bell pulled Sakura out of her light slumber. 

Sighing, she rubbed at her forehead, sore from her hour-long nap against the table. A quick check with her phone mirror confirmed that the exposed skin had turned an angry red. 

This wouldn't have happened if I'd still had my fringe. The thought conjured an image of the inspiration of her current hairstyle in her mind's eye. 

'My, Forehead Girl, you shouldn't be drawing anymore attention to a forehead of that size... Didn't I teach you better than that?' 

Ino Yamanaka had once been someone she called a friend. But now, the blonde never passed up on an opportunity to hurt her right where they both knew it ached the most. This arch-enemy relationship was mutual, of course - whenever Ino taunted her, Sakura shot an answering quip about pigs right back. 

She'd learned not to back down from bullying from her, after all. 

Still, Sakura would rather not face a round of public ridicule from Ino's new friends when she could avoid it, especially on the first day of college. 

As she closed the library door behind her with her borrowed library books clutched to her chest, Sakura's stomach growled. 

Right. She'd skipped lunch break because neither Sasuke nor Naruto had been anywhere in sight - besides which the image of the former ignoring her in favor of sitting with Ino was still fresh in mind - and she didn't want to risk crossing paths with her arch-enemy in the lunch hall alone. 

Naruto would've called it insanity to give up food to avoid being laughed at, but Sakura disagreed. She'd had enough of being bullied in middle and high school combined, thank you very much. If circumstances didn't allow her to stand up for herself, then running away was the next best alternative, right? 

Then again, Naruto was probably used to being ostracized, though Sakura felt a little bad for thinking that way. As an orphan child he'd had trouble mixing with classmates, and becoming class clown had only aggravated things...

Right. Naruto! Where is he? Sakura fumbled for her phone, only to find that the yellow-haired boy hadn't replied to any of her messages. 

Sakura 56minsago:  
Naruto! Did u skip PE? Where r u

Sakura 55minsago:  
?? U better not be hiding somewhere avoiding me

Sakura 50minsago:  
R u srsly skipping lunch to annoy me;; u better not have ditched me

Sakura 39minsago:  
Naruto? R u ok? R u w Sasuke?? I'm sleeping in the library, come find me 

Sakura frowned down at her screen. One tick for every message; so he'd received but not read them. 

Naruto didn't use his phone much in school, but he had disappeared for two periods in a row... Still, maybe he was just busy running after Sasuke, or even together with Shikamaru or Kiba. It shouldn't be any cause for concern... 

And yet, Sakura found herself quickening her footsteps as she hastened towards the Chemistry lab for her next class with Naruto. 

-

'NARUTO, YOU IDIOT! I've been looking for you all break, and here you are, staring into space!? Couldn't you have - oh, I don't know, taken one minute of your time to text back?'

Upon entering the laboratory, all of Sakura's worry instantly transformed into rage at the sight of her friend already sitting at a bench. 

Several students who didn't know her well enough to recognize that this was normal behavior stared, and Sakura blushed a deep shade of red. 

When it came down to her reputation versus her indignation - her reputation was the clear victor. 

Deflating, she exhaled deeply and rearranged her long hair so that it fell neatly across her shoulders. Dropping her bag down on the bench beside Naruto, Sakura forced herself to remain calm as she slammed a fist down on the table. 

Silence. Naruto didn't even seem to see nor hear her arrival. His eyes stared unblinkingly straight ahead. 

Following his gaze, Sakura saw nothing but the blankness of the whiteboard. 

'...'

'Oi, Naruto,' she finally said, in a much softer tone. Leaning closer to wave a hand in front of the yellow-haired boy's face, she saw that his nose was bleeding. 

'Oi, Naruto!' This time the words came out in an explosive exclamation, her healer's soul awakened. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a tissue to stem the flow. It didn't appear to be broken, at least. 

Seriously, I should be used to this by now. Between Sasuke and Naruto, she'd had plenty of practice throughout the years in applying her nursing skills. 

Under the treatment, Naruto finally seemed to snap out of his reverie. Blinking, he looked around him in a daze. 

'Sakura...? Where am I? ...What time is it now?' 

'This is the Chem lab, and its five minutes before class starts.' A shadow fell across the bench as a familiar voice announced the facts. 

Glancing up, Sakura recognized Mr Iruka's - and Naruto's - neighbor, Inuzaki Kiba, dangling over the edge of the table. 

She didn't know him very well and they'd never had classes together, but she remembered that he came from a family of professional dog breeders. She'd been able to hear some of them barking through the walls when she was in Naruto's room. 

'Kiba...?' Naruto's voice sounded more normal now. 'Shit. Fucking shit, I'm not sober enough for this.' He groaned, burying his face in his hands. 

'That sounds about right,' the brown-haired boy agreed. Reaching down, he ruffled the head of yellow hair good-naturedly. 'Wanna swing by for a couple bottles later? My parents are outta town.' 

Noticing Sakura's gaze, he added, 'Thanks for slapping him awake, by the way. He's been zoned out since I came in.' He didn't seem concerned about why Naruto was acting out of sorts. Maybe he simply assumes that intoxication had a part in it.

'I can't, man. Iruka's knocking off early tonight to celebrate the start of my college education. And no -' Naruto held out a preempting palm at this, '- there won't be any alcohol involved, Kiba.' 

Ignoring the brown-haired boy's dramatic groan as he slid off their table, Sakura turned to Naruto, growing serious. 'Naruto, seriously. What happened? Why're you so out of it? Why was your nose bleeding? Did you get into a fight again?' 

Under the rapid-fire series of questions, Naruto showed no signs of his usual fond irritation. Instead, he seemed to retreat into a shell. 'Not now, Sakura.' 

In response, Sakura could only close her mouth in silence. She'd been ready to argue for her right to know in the face of his irritation, but now...

She remembered how Sasuke had brushed her off, just this morning. She had thought she'd left that kind of indifference behind together with her feelings for him. And now Naruto, too, intended to shut her out.

God, it was only the first day of college. No, no, I have to be positive! Surely it's just Monday blues for everyone. I can't think like this... 

Her distress must have shown, because after a moment Naruto turned towards her again. 

'Shit, I'm sorry, Sakura.' A sadness that she wasn't accustomed to seeing Naruto display so openly crossed his face. 'It's not you - It's just... I just can't, right now. I need some time to - to think. You'd be the first to know if I had anything to tell - I promise.' 

With that, Naruto mustered up a weak smile that was a depressing parody of his usual bright grin. 

Oh. 

She'd wanted to offer her counsel, but it seemed now that it was Naruto who had taken on the role of comforting her instead. 

It seemed only yesterday that the yellow-haired boy had been following her around whining for attention. Once, she'd been taller than him. But now, he had long rose past her and was still growing. 

Tilting her face to the side, she gazed up at him. Huh. Even with those peculiar whiskers, his face had matured into something people might call handsome.

Yes, the boy she'd scorned as an annoying pursuer was now someone worthy of being pursued himself.

Sakura had spent her entire life bettering herself to match up to the people around her. Now, she promised herself not to let him leave her in the dust behind him.

An answering smile tugged on her lips. 

''Okay, Naruto.' 

-

Chemistry with Mr Shiranui passed quickly. The young teacher explained that he was a graduate taking up the temporary position of teaching assistant at his alma mater while studying for a further degree. 

Personally, Sakura thought it was a pity that he would only be teaching them for their first semester. For a stand-in, Mr Shiranui showed impressive instructing skills that backed up his hands-off approach to students. 

Though she rather suspected that the rest of the class much preferred the teacher's laid-back attitude and borderline inappropriate humor. 

As the lesson went on, Naruto seemed to slowly ease back into his element, laughing along with some of the jokes - though far from his usual antics of asking obnoxious questions in class. 

But maybe that was just him growing out of juvenile behavior. Despite the heavy odds, Sakura still had her hopes. 

(Though admittedly, she would miss the entertainment he provided - not that she'd ever tell Naruto that. )

As the ringing bell signaled the end of the period, Sakura packed her bag and filed out of the classroom with the rest of the students. 

A pace ahead, Kiba had an arm slung around Naruto's shoulders and was excitedly shouting something into his ear. 

Though she'd meant to catch up with Naruto, Sakura hung back. Maybe what the yellow-haired boy needed right now was someone who could remind him of the boundless positivity he had worn as a facade for all these years. 

Although... It can't possibly be healthy for him. 

It was a recurring thought she'd had many times before. But what could she do? She was no real doctor, not yet at least - who was she to say what was best for Naruto?

And he's been growing into his mask too... What would everyone say if they realized it was all an act at first? Will they still love him for what he truly is? 

She knew these were thoughts Naruto had, too.

'Naruto!' A familiar voice broke Sakura's train of thought. 

Lifting her head, she saw Ino making her way over, an arm hooked into the crook of a tall boy's elbow. 

The duo stopped before Naruto and Kiba. As Sakura attempted to discreetly inch herself towards them, she overheard bits and pieces of their conversation. 

'Party... Temari... Moving in... You in?' 

She hated the upbeat confidence in the blonde's voice, and the way Naruto was scratching at the back of his head as if he was seriously considering going. 

And so what if he is? Who are you to stop him from attending the popular clique's party just because of your bad blood with one of them? After all, this is what he's always wanted, right? To be popular and welcomed by everyone? 

Shouldn't you be happy for him, as a friend?

Sakura halted in her tracks. What am I thinking...? 

The sudden movement was enough to catch her arch-enemy's attention. 

'Oh, if it isn't Sakura.' Ino's voice dripped with unnatural sweetness. 'Aren't you going to say hello to your oldest friend here?' 

For a long time now, her name uttered by that honeyed mouth had ceased to be a beautiful sound. 

At the blonde's words, three pairs of eyes swerved to focus on Sakura. 

One was bewildered, another concerned, and the last was full of the silent amusement of a bystander. 

Up close, Sakura recognized Ino's eye candy as Hyuga Neji, the prodigy-turned-genius in the grade above them. She didn't know him personally, but she'd always looked up to high-flyers as motivation for herself, academically or socially. 

And Hyuga Neji was certainly both. Like Sasuke, the combination of his academic excellence and visual appeal had attracted adoration from all over the campus - but unlike Sasuke, Neji welcomed and basked in the attention. 

As if sensing her thoughts, the boy turned his gaze on her. He did not smile, but there was something about his pale eyes that captivated her. 

And she'd thought herself past the stage of falling for boys with pretty faces who had never given her the time of the day. 

A strained silence had fallen over them as Sakura withheld a biting reply.

Gaze darting between Ino and Sakura, Kiba attempted to break the tense atmosphere. 'If there's a party... Then Sakura and I are invited too, right?!' He laughed.

'...' 

Sakura winced, looking at the wide smile spread across the boy's face. Confident to the point of arrogance... 

She could see why he and Naruto were close now, though. Despite vastly different personalities, they expressed themselves with the same tactless enthusiasm that seemed to dare anyone to stand in their way. 

Though... Maybe not today. Sakura snuck a glance at Naruto, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet throughout the whole conversation. Even now, he wore an unusually solemn expression. The Naruto she knew wouldn't have hesitated to intervene on her behalf. 

Or was that just her being stuck in the past now? 

Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Neji turning his head to the side to hide a smirk. 

'Well, you're both welcome, of course.' Ino replied, a strange undertone to her words. Her gaze latched onto Sakura with an unreadable intensity, who found herself doubting her arch-enemy's intentions. 

Strange. She'd thought Ino would simply exclude them from her invitation list. That was what she had always done since their falling out. 

Did she want her to come this time? Why? So that she could humiliate her in front of everyone there? Was that why she'd invited Naruto? 

And I used to be able to read her so well too...

At any rate, I'd rather not see her more than I have to. Ino would always have more of an effect on her than she wished she did. 

'You guys go ahead. I'd rather stay - home,' she lied, waving them off. 

Kiba looked a little disappointed. Neji, nonplussed. Naruto was still staring in Ino's direction, though Sakura suspected that it was more of him staring past her than at her. 

Ino herself maintained that undecipherable expression. Her gaze had not wavered for a second away from Sakura. 

'Well then... We're still going, right? Naruto?' The enthusiastic neighbor urged. He really wants to go, huh... Sakura wondered if there was more to it than free alcohol. Is he interested in Ino? Somehow, the thought left a sour taste in her mouth. 

What's wrong with me today... There's never been any shortage of people lusting after her. 

It was the way Ino was staring at her. Yes, it was just unnerving that she couldn't read her intentions, that was all. 

That was all it had to be.

The yellow-haired boy seemed much less enthused. His eyes focused on Ino, then flickered back to Kiba. 'Yeah, let's go...' Then as if as an afterthought, he turned towards Sakura. 'Sorry. See you tomorrow?' 

'Bye, Sakura. See you around tomorrow,' Ino repeated. Her cool eyes seemed to look deep into her target's heart - then, arm still hooked in Neji's, she turned her back on Sakura. 

'Ah, bye!' Sakura returned, distracted and somehow a little disappointed. 

Watching them leave, a familiar feeling of loss washed over her. 

Oh, how she hated being left behind. 

Once, a long time ago, she'd thought Ino's companionship had saved her from this. But then she had realized that even as she thought Ino was beside her, she was really always in front of her; always ready to protect and shield her. 

And she was grateful for it, but - when they stood together, Ino's strength revealed her weakness. She grew to hate her own insignificance, her invisibility in crowds that always saw confident, glamorous Ino first. 

Then one day, she decided she needed to learn how to stand alone to forge ahead herself. 

So she had split ways from Ino. 

And now... Had she really succeeded? She didn't know. Every time someone walked away from her, she still felt that same old mind-numbing insecurity.

'E-excuse me...' A timid voice floated into Sakura's ear. Startled, she turned to see a girl with dark purple hair hovering behind her. 

'Yes?' She asked, frowning. That kind of shyness in a child might be endearing, but it was unattractive in a girl of her age - that, and she wasn't in a very good mood after what had happened.

Under Sakura's gaze, the girl seemed to waver as if considering fleeing for a second, but then she took a deep breath and steadied herself. 

Sakura took a closer look at her. Wait. She actually looked vaguely familiar. And those pale eyes... 

A Hyuga? 

Well, that wasn't really unusual. The Hyugas were nearly as numerous as the Uchihas in Konoha, though much more secretive and reclusive in their secluded mansion. But it was more than that. Sakura could swear she'd seen her around before - in their grade - 

'Ah! You're Hyuga Hinata!' She exclaimed in recognition. 'Are you looking for Neji? He just left...'

At this, Hinata's pretty pale eyes lit up, before dimming and being replaced by an anxious look that Sakura knew well. Her lips parted, but she seemed to be struggling to articulate her words.

So, not Neji... At least, she hoped not. At one point there were ridiculous rumors about Sasuke and his older brother flying around, and then she'd confronted her friend about it, and then - 

All she could say was that she didn't know what to think now, either.

'Or... Maybe Ino?' Sakura offered helpfully. It wouldn't be the first time a girl had tried to confess to the blonde through Sakura, and they hadn't been friends for a long time. 

But Hinata shook her head, blushing even harder. 

Sakura's smile was turning unnatural. 'Kiba...?' She ventured, only to see a confused look cross Hinata's face. It can't be, that leaves only... 

'Naruto!?!' She blurted out in disbelief. 

The purple haired girl's face fell, obviously misinterpreting her outburst. 'Oh...'

'Oh, no no no,' Sakura assured, waving her hands desperately in the air. What was she doing? 'It's just - Never mind. Wow. Naruto, huh?' 

The smile she'd been maintaining was slipping away, but she forced herself to keep it in place. Something dangerously like tears welled up in her eyes, and she hastily rambled on to hide her fluster. 

'Well -! What can I help you with? I mean - I can help you pass the letter to him?' 

Things like love letters... In their high school years she'd contributed to the steady inflow that Sasuke's locker was always stuffed full with, but he threw every single one of them away without a single glance - just as he had the others.

Who confesses with love letters in college? Still, it seemed like something someone as shy as Hinata would do. Although that idiot Naruto might actually be over the moon at receiving one...

A blank expression crossed Hinata's face, before she began shaking her head vigorously. 

'Ah, no! Not a - a love letter. I - I just wanted to pass this to Na- to him.' With both hands outstretched and face turned to the side, Hinata looked like the classic example of a confessing girl. She held out a piece of paper to Sakura. 

'...' 

Grudgingly, Sakura had to admit that she was pretty; in a way that was vastly different from Ino. 

Beautiful dark purple locks that curled at the tips, those lovely Hyugan pale eyes, the way her blush touched pale cheeks... It was as if she were the ideal virginal type. 

Sakura could see how Naruto might be attracted to her. 

And that only fueled her scorn for the girl before her. 

Logically, she knew Hinata had done nothing to warrant this distaste, but there was just something about her that galled Sakura.

As for what it is...

Looking down at the paper, Sakura realized that it was just a typical application form. Instinctively, she scanned through its details. 

Application for official extra lessons...? By... Mr Kakashi? Sakura's brows furrowed. It was only the first day of college, and they hadn't even had official History lessons with their tutor yet. 

What had Naruto done in the space of hours to incur this treatment from Mr Kakashi?

And so... It isn't even a love letter. Sakura lifted her eyes from the form to stare at Hinata. 

'If I may ask... What do you like about Naruto?' She asked in a casual tone. 

It was an audacious question to ask someone she barely knew as an acquaintance, and she would never have actually articulated it regarding anyone else. 

But... This was Naruto they were talking about. Naruto, one of her closest childhood friends. Didn't she deserve the right to judge a prospective girlfriend? 

And... There was something else, insidiously worming its way into her heart. 

The pale-eyed girl seemed suck in a breath, shocked by the forward question. 

But she quickly recovered, setting her shoulders. 'I - I. Okay. Since you're his close friend, and you asked... I'll tell you, Sakura.' 

And with that, a wavering smile spread across her face.

'He... How might I even begin? From the start, he has been my- the sun. 

There was a time when everyone - even you, Sakura - isolated him, but he was always brilliant and relentless. And because of his efforts, people started focusing their gazes on him. They began to accept him into their circles. And his smile became ever brighter and realer than ever. 

Watching him, I began to hope... That maybe I could be like that, too. E-even shy as I am, I could become strong enough shine as my own star-! And then... I would be confident enough to confess to him, as a woman worthy of his spirit, finally!' 

As she spoke, a slow-burning light simmered in her pale eyes, until, under Sakura's astonished gaze, they burned with a fiery determination against which she paled in comparison. 

Was this really the timid girl who had trembled at approaching her? Her stuttering had been replaced by persevering confidence, her downcast eyes by proudly lifted ones, and she smiled with a shy confidence that touched Sakura to the heart. 

When Sakura looked at her, she saw a girl who would one day bloom into a woman who could stand proudly beside the image of Naruto that she had conjured.

Ah... It seems that I mistook a phoenix for sparrow. 

Hyuga Hinata was far from what Sakura had thought she was. 

And me? Who am I to judge her, when I hopelessly chased after Sasuke for years, never even understanding why I never stood a chance? 

At least Hinata knew exactly what she wanted and how to achieve it.

And Naruto... That idiot has really become someone worthy of admiration, huh?

Sakura closed her eyes. 

She thought she understood now, what had irked her. 

In Hinata, she had seen herself. 

Hopeless, useless, powerless. Those were only some of the things she'd been called in her high school years. So many had mocked her, among others, for her persistence in chasing after Sasuke. 

She wrote him a hundred love letters, but she never had the courage or understanding to realize why they'd all ended up in the bin. 

Eventually, she had accepted their incompatibility and even grown closer to Sasuke by putting her feelings away. 

But up until now, she hadn't experienced the same fire that had motivated her to end her friendship with Ino again. 

She had bloomed from the unconfident, self-conscious girl with bangs. And now she was going to take the first step to her next metamorphosis. 

After all, she couldn't stop anyone from leaving ahead - but she could prevent herself from falling behind. 

When she opened her eyes again, they mirrored the determination burning in Hinata's pale eyes. A smile pulled at her lips. 

'I understand now. Thank you, Hinata. And I won't lose to you! From now on - let's both work hard in finding our way!' 

She watched as the purple-haired girl recovered from her surprise and hesitantly returned the smile. In that instant, they had reached an understanding exclusive to them alone. 

Hinata, Naruto... Sasuke. I won't lose to any of you. 

With determination burning bright in her heart, Sakura ended her first day back at Konoha Academy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :)


End file.
